Please sign this Petition

 I am asking all my friends to please sign this Petition. There was a hearing this past week in the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee and during it the one of the Under Secretary of the VA out right lied and provide mis-information.

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/senate-pass-blue-water-navy-vietnam-veterans-act-2017-passed-house-bill-hr299

H.R. 299 Passed the House

H.R.299 passed the House 382 to 0 and went to the Senate. The Senate held a hearing and the VA lied and provided out right lies and mis-information out. We are in the process of providing new Battle Orders,

H.R.299 BEING VOTED ON

On Monday June 25, 2018 at around 5:30pm EDT H.R299 is schedule to go for debate and a vote. Please call you Representative before that and ask them to Vote YES on it.

HR-299 GOING TO FLOOR

HR-299 IS GOING TO THE FLOOR FOR A VOTE. WE DO NOT EXPECT ANY PROBLEMS

Blue Water Navy Association

Blue Water Navy Association and Blue Water Navy Awareness have merged. We hope that will make us even stronger.
If you are interested in join our Association please go to https://www.bwnvva.org/membership.html

to join us.

We are having a Board Meeting this coming week to talk about the By Laws and Articles of Incorporation. We will be posting an update on our Web Site later this week.

If you are not a Member of either the Association or the Facebook page please consider joining,

 Association: https://www.bwnvva.org/membership.html

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BlueWaterNavyAssociation/

Blue Water Navy Announcement

From the Executive Director of Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Association:

Good morning Shipmates!

I am pleased to announce that we held our first Board of Directors meeting last night. The Board has given my staff and I a green light for the new initiatives. First, and foremost, I want to announce that Mike Yates has been selected to become the first National Commander of the Association. Mike will be posting his official comments on the page and website. We are currently redesigning the website and making it user-friendly, as well as, transitioning the new staff to help with deck log research. I look forward to his leadership and hope you're excited about the changes coming!

Very Respectfully,

Michael J. Little

I want to thank Mike Little and the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Association Board of Directors for this opportunity. I look forward to working with them.

The BWNVVA has been around for many years doing some very good work for Blue Water Navy Veterans. I hope to continue to do this type of work and help to bring the BWNVVA to be  an even stronger group than it already is. We need to be able stand up with other Veterans Organizations with our heads held up high and continue the fight. We need to be able to go up to any Member of Congress and when they hear we are from BWNVVA they will  respect us and be willing to work with us.

One thing I want to make clear. BWNVVA is working hard with Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans, BWNVVA is not only for them but for all Navy Veterans, Marine Veterans, and Fleet Marine Veterans, Active Duty Members, and all other Veterans. We all can work together and help each others

What does this mean for the BWNVVA. It means in the next year I am going to be busy. There is a lot of planning to do in setting the direction of the BWNVVA, I need to define and fill some other position and I need to do this while working on H.R. 299, S. 422, H.R.809 and any other Bills that we need to work on.

For those of you that don’t know about BWNVVA I’d like to invite you to join us on Facebook at Blue Water Navy, I would to have other pages work together. BWNVVA does have a Web Page but is is going off line for a while while it is being redesigned.

For those who don’t know me. I will tell you a little about myself. I am a Blue Water Navy Veterans. I served on the USS Bainbridge DLG(N)25 as a Sonar Tech. I spent many years in the San Francisco Bay Area and worked as a Senior Test Engineer before being retired in 2012.  In 2013 I was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer and in 2014 I was diagnosed with Thyroid Cancer. To top that off this year I have been diagnosed with Heart Problem, receiving a stent a few months ago. I have had many people ask me how I can keep a positive outlook while having these problems. I tell them two things, first I have Cancer, Cancer doesn’t have me and second. I am too busy with working on the Blue Water Navy Agent Orange issue to worry about it. I let my doctors do the worrying and I listen to them.

If you have any questions or any ideas that are going to help us please feel free to ask.

Mike Yates

National Commander

Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Association

Veterans Day

This Saturday is Veterans Day, a day we pay tribute to all American veterans—living or

dead—but especially gives thanks to living veterans who served their country honorably during war or peacetime.

Veterans Day originated as “Armistice Day” on Nov. 11, 1919, the first anniversary of the end of World War I. Congress passed a resolution in 1926 for an annual observance, and Nov. 11 became a national holiday beginning in 1938.

Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans are also Veterans, but in some cases we are being treated different that other Vietnam Veterans. There are studies that we were exposed to Agent Orange by way of the Water used on board the ships we served on. It has also been proved that the water going through the distillation plants on board the ships actually enhanced the Dioxins in the water causing the Blue Water Navy Veterans to be exposed up to ten(10) times the amount as A Veterans with Boots On The Ground.

In 1991 Congress passed the Agent Orange Act of 1991(Public Law No: 102-4) and was signed into law by the President George H.W. Bush and were granted benefits. but in 2002 the General Consul Mary Lou Keener of the Veterans Administration decided to remove these Veterans from being cover despite the sprit of the Public Law No: 102-4.

The COB has estimated that the total cost to cover these Veterans is around 1.1 Billion over ten (10) years. Now one interesting FACT from www. Foreignassistance. gov is that from 2009 until 2018 the amount of Foreign Assistance given to Vietnam is around 1.1 Billion. Now this does include fund that are being used to CLEAN UP Agent Orange in Vietnam. Our Government can find money to Clean Up Vietnam but not to provide Benefits for our Veterans. So Vietnam is worth more than our own Veterans. This is very sad.

I have attached a video that I found last year and posted. I am againing going to share it. Please remember Share this video and help other remember other Veterans.

Mike Yates

National Commander

Please Watch

Veterans asking for Americans Support

Most Americans believe that all Vietnam Veterans receive the same benefits and Health Care from the VA. This is NOT true. If your feet touch the ground or served in the inland waterway of Vietnam then you can receive NOT only Free Health Care benefits but they also can receive VA disability compensation based on the amount of disability you have by just applying for it.

Navy and Fleet Marines Personnel who serve in the Gulf of Tonkin supporting the “Police Action”, (they tell us it was not a WAR) have to PROVE they had “Boots on the Ground” or the cause of their illness was due to their service in the Navy.

In January of 1991, the US Congress, by unanimous consent of both the House and Senate, passed a law (Public Law No: 102-4) that provided the same benefits to all Members of the Service that receive the Vietnam Service Medal the same benefits. However in 2002 the  General Consul of the Veterans Administration decided on HER OWN that the way Public Law No: 102-4 was written, it didn’t cover anyone who did not have “Boots on the Ground”. There are still Members of Congress that are still serving that have said that is not true, they wanted to COVER ALL VETERANS that Served within the area of Vietnam.

Since 1991 when Public Law No: 102-4 was passed the number of diseases and illness caused by Agent Orange exposure has increased. In the future the may may increase. As you know they can take and look at Veterans who were in the Vietnam War and those who serve in other parts of the world and they can see that those who serve in the Vietnam are have a much high rate of suffering from these diseases and illness associated with Agent Orange Exposure.  

These Veterans have served their Country when they were asked to and now their Country is turning their back on them. Yes they can receive some health care but they have to pay a share where other with the exact same diseases and illness not only receive the health care they deserve and receive BUT they are receiving  Compensation for suffering these diseases and illnesses.

We are not asking for anything more that we deserve. We did our job and now it’s time for our Country to fulfill its obligation to their Veterans and provide them with the benefits they rightly deserve.

One other FACT that not only does some Veterans but Most Americans do not know about is the fact that OUR Government has paid close to 300 Millions dollars to clean up Agent Orange in Vietnam. Now I am not saying we should NOT help pay for it but What about the Veterans who helped defend that Country.

Some people are wondering how can Members of the Navy who did NOT set foot on Vietnam Land get exposed to Agent Orange. The way this happened is by way or water. As you know water is very important to human, it is also very important to ships. A Naval Ship will take in water from which it is sailing in, which more than like will be Salt Water and distill it into Fresh Water that the Naval Personnel can drink, bath in, cook with, and many other functions that they may need. The distillation is suppose to remove chemicals and other items from the water. It turns out that when it comes to Agent Orange is actually enhances the amount of Dioxins instead of removing it.

You maybe asking yourself what can you and other American do. You can contact you Members of Congress and asked them to support The Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act, HR-299 in the House and S-422 in the Senate.

Mike Yates

Blue Water Navy Awareness on Facebook

WE WERE THERE TOO on Facebook

thebluewaternavyawareness@gmail.com

John Wells for Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs

As you know that we will have a new President this coming January. It doesn’t manner what you think of him it is going to happen.  President Elect Donald J. Trump is going to need a new Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs for the new Congressional Session.

I am asking every one to please contact President Elect Donald J. Trump and request that he consider MVA’s Executive Director, Commander John B. Wells, USN (Retired) as Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs

Below is some information about Commander Wells.

MVA’s Executive Director, Commander John B. Wells, USN (Retired) has long been viewed as the technical expert on Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Issues. A 22 year veteran of the Navy, Commander Wells served as a Surface Warfare Officer on six different ships, with over ten years at sea. He possessed a mechanical engineering sub-specialty, was qualified as a Navigator and for command at sea, and served as the Chief Engineer on several Navy ships. As Chief Engineer, he was directly responsible for the water distillation and distribution system. He is well versed in the science surrounding this bill and is familiar with all aspects of surface ship operations.

Since retirement, Commander Wells has become a practicing attorney with an emphasis on military and veterans law. He is counsel on several pending cases concerning the Blue Water Navy and has filed amicus curiae briefs in other cases. Since 2010 he has visited over 400 Congressional and Senatorial offices to discuss the importance of enacting this bill. He is recognized in the veterans community as the subject matter expert on this matter.

 If you would like to support this effort, please snail mail a letter of support to:

Donald J. Trump Transitional Team

1717 Pennsylvania Ave. NW

Washington, D.C. 20006

Below is the proper salutation to use:

Dear Mr. President Elect Donald J. Trump

John is in D.C. this week and next visiting with house and senate offices on our Blue Water Navy Bills and Resolutions.  It is early, but the early bird gets the worm.  Once we have an official fax number or email address, I will provide at that time.  For now written letters should be used.  Will certainly not hurt to then fax or email it when we received that information.  Let us try and get the attention John needs at this transitional time to get his name on the ballot to get an interview.

I have had the pleasure of meeting Commander Wells and I can tell you he is very dedicated to ALL Veterans. You may have seen his post on some Facebook Pages, he has a great sense of humor and as I said already very dedicated.

Please help get Donald J. Trump Transitional Team to notice John. He will be a great asset to all Veterans.

Mike Yates

Blue Water Navy Awareness

thebluewaternavyawarenss@gmail.com

.John Wells and Susie are doing a radio show tomorrow. Info below.

The discussion will focus on BWN Vietnam Veterans who served offshore, in the bays and harbors who are excluded from their AO benefits.

Approximately 21 million gallons of deadly herbicides were sprayed on Vietnam between 1962 and 1970.
Where do you suppose it all went?

Nearly half of the surviving hundred thousand members of the United States Navy and Fleet Marine services who fought in Vietnam between 1962 and 1975 may currently suffer disabilities from the effects of dioxin, found in Agent Orange. Yet, these service personnel are being denied all service-connected health care from VA Hospitals and disability compensation for these diseases while all other Vietnam War veterans are receiving these benefits!

This site provides information related to dioxin and other toxic exposures by personnel of the Blue Water Navy, which includes Coast Guard and Fleet Marine personnel. Additional information for all veterans is also posted. We are not doctors and offer no medical advice. We are not lawyers and offer no legal advice. We will not take your Power of Attorney to represent your case, but we will consult with you as to the best information and arguments that we know by experience to give you the best chance of winning your VA claim.

Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Ass.

http://www.bluewaternavy.org/

Military Veterans Advocacy, Inc.

http://www.militaryveteransadvocacy.org/

Here is the Link

Radio Show

The Most Powerful Person

I find it amazing that in this country of ours that one PERSON has so much power that he can decide on his own if a Bill won’t become law.

Let use look at how a Bill becomes law;

1.     A member of Congress introduces a bill.

2.     Committees review and vote on the bill.

3.     The Senate and the House debate and vote on the bill.

4.     The President signs the bill—or NOT. 

Now the last step mean the President can SIGN or VETO the BILL.  BUT if over 290 of the House of Representatives votes to override the VETO and at least 67 Members of the Senator votes to overturn the VETO then the Bills because law. Seems Fair to me that because ONE Person decide that the bill should NOT become law then a Super Majority can over ride the VETO.

Now if you think I am talking about the President, you would be wrong. Let me give you an example.

There is a Bill in the House of Representative, HR-969, the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act that has 334 Members of the House of Representative that support the Bill. Now when I went to school I did learn the 334 is greater than 290. YET in the House Veterans Affairs Committee ONE PERSON, the Honorable Congressman Jeff Miller is deciding, since he is the Chairman that HR-969 should not go to the Floor for a VOTE, EVEN if there is more than a SUPERMAJORITY already in the House SUPPORTING the Bill.

In the Senate there is ONLY 45 Members Supporting S-681, the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act. This is 45% of the Senate that supports the Bill. I find it hard to believe that there wouldn’t be at least 6 more members of the Senate would vote for the Bill, but that is a guess. It would be nice if Senator Johnny Isakson would also bring the Senate Version to the Floor for a VOTE.

Now to be fair to both of them I understand they were waiting for the CBO score of the Bills. The CBO has stated that the Bills will cost about $2.4 Billion over the period of 10 years. So that excuse is over. They are also waiting for a Write Up from Secretary McDonald of the VA and the VA was waiting for a Write Up from the Navy. Well the Navy has provided the Write Up telling the VA there were no way they can test a Ship that may have been exposed to Agent Orange back in the 60’s and early 70’s.  Too much time has passed for anything to still be there.

All members of Congress are sworn in with the following oath:

‘I AB do solemnly swear (or Affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or
purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.’

It's easy for Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans to understand this oath because it is very similar to the oath we had to take when we joined the Navy. So the oaths states they are going to follow the Constitution. It some what easy to understand, well, if you can understand the Constitution.

Now MY UNDERSTANDING of the Constitution is that both the Members of the
House and Senate are elected to represent the will of the people that not only elected them but who they represent. This is easy enough for me to understand. Now of course not all constituent are going to agree so they should do as a majority of the constituent want, which is if they are in favorite of the Bill it would seem that their constituent are in favorite of the Bill.

Now to me it seems that at least Chairman Jeff Miller is either Breaking the Law or Violating the Constitution by not allowing the Bill to go to a floor for a vote.  They are deciding what they want and not what a majority of the fellow Members of Congress are wanting. So it seems that the most Powerful Person in OUR government is NOT the President of the United States but the Chairman of the Veterans Affair Committees.

These are my opinion. I’m not a lawyer; this is done with some research and guessing. I have been working for about two years helping to get the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act along with many others. I started the Blue Water Awareness Group on Facebook under 2 years ago and there we have many great members working towards the same cause in getting the Members of Congress to understand why we feel they should bring back the benefits that were taken away from Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans in 2002.

Many of us have the effect of being exposed to Agent Orange; in my case I have Prostate Cancer, which is on the list of diseases that Agent Orange cause. I also have Thyroid Cancer, which there is now finding evidence that Agent Orange may cause problem with the Thyroid. Yet the VA says that I couldn’t have been exposed to Agent Orange since I was stationed on a ship. Yet there are studies both here in the US and in Australia those shows that members of the Navy may have been exposed to Agent Orange by the way of the way the water on Naval Ships distilled for cooking, cleaning, bathing and all the other reason water is used. BUT the VA along with Congressman Jeff Miller don’t believe it.

Mike Yates

Blue Water Navy Awareness

thebluewaternavyawarenss@gmail.com

Update fon Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act

Update from Blue Water Navy Awareness

Supporting Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act

House: 334

Senate: 45

This is NOT a Political Post, this is a Veterans Issue.

I know it has been a long time since I have provided an update and I am sorry for that. We have had more Members of Congress sign onto to support the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act. We now have 334 Members of the House and 45 Members of the Senate supporting the bills. These are good number and we are working hard on getting more support in the Senate so we can get it over the 50% mark. However there are two Members of Congress that are holding back the Bills. We have Congressman Jeff Miller, who is the Chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee and Senator Johnny Isakson who is the Chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee.

We have almost 77% of the House and 45% of the Senate supporting the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act yet two Members of Congress are using their power to prevent the Bills from going to the floor of Congress for a vote.

We are asking everyone to help us in Contacting these two and requesting that they allow the Bills to be sent to the Floor for an vote. Also we are still asking everyone to Contact their own Members of Congress and ask them to Contact the Veterans Affairs Committee and ask them to bring the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act to a vote.

We at Blue Water Navy Awareness on Facebook are still working hard to get these two Bills passed. Weekly we are asking all our Members to Contact specific Members of Congress so we can put Respectful pressure on them. So far we believe it has worked. In the last year there have been over 100 House Members signed on and 31 Senate Members. We would love to get the Number of Senators up above 66. Please help use, we are asking not only for ourselves but for all the Other Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans that are suffering from the effect of Agent Orange.

These two Bills are not the only thing we work on, but it is what we are focusing on.

Please feel free to share this information and if you have any questions please feel free to Message Me, email me at thebluewaternavyawareness@gmail.com or come over to Blue Water Navy Awareness on Facebook and post the questions.

You can go to my website at http://www. bluewaternavyawareness. com/senators-not-supporting-s-681.html (remove the two spaces)

Thanks for your time.

Mike

Blue Water Navy Awareness

May 18 - Please make this phone call

ON MAY 18TH, CALL (202)224-3121, GIVE THE OPERATOR YOUR STATE AND/OR ZIP CODE AND THEY WILL CONNECT YOU WITH YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS OFFICE. ASK TO SPEAK WITH THE LA FOR VETERANS AFFAIRS...MAKE IT CLEAR YOU ARE CALLING AS A CONSTITUENT ASKING FOR THEIR SUPPORT OF HR 969 and S 681, THE BLUE WATER NAVY VIETNAM VETERANS ACT"

Washington DC Rally

I have a request. On May 18th I will be in Washington DC attending a Rally and New Conference being held by Senator Gibson from New York.

I am asking all my friend to please read the following and please Contact your member of Congress and request they support these if they aren't. We have 41 Senators and 320 House Members supporting them.

Also Please share this information. We Make the calls and please let any one you know that served in the Navy during the Vietnam War about the following;

ON MAY 18TH, CALL (202)224-3121, GIVE THE OPERATOR YOUR STATE AND/OR ZIP CODE AND THEY WILL CONNECT YOU WITH YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS OFFICE. ASK TO SPEAK WITH THE LA FOR VETERANS AFFAIRS...MAKE IT CLEAR YOU ARE CALLING AS A CONSTITUENT ASKING FOR THEIR SUPPORT OF HR 969 and S 681, THE BLUE WATER NAVY VIETNAM VETERANS ACT"

RALLY IN SUPPORT OF THE BLUE WATER NAVY LEGISLATION

On May 18, there will be a gathering in Washington, DC, of veterans, friends and family members. Everyone is encouraged and welcome to come. We will be having a Rally in Support of the two bills that are languishing in both the House and Senate Veterans Committees. Hopefully, this will bring some attention to the subject and help get those Bills brought to the Floors of both House and Senate for a vote.

Our exact meeting place is yet to be announced, but we will perhaps be visiting the Congress as well as showing up in other locations. Anything you can do to let your local press know about this, the better.

We are simultaneously asking veterans, friends and family to Rally in Support at their own locations, because the trip to DC is long and expensive. So if one or more individuals supporting our legislation (HR-969 and S-681) can make a sign indicating their Support for the Blue Water Navy, they should go walk around outside their nearest VA facility and join in this National Effort. It is a peaceful, compliant, and non-trespassing walk that brings attention to the problems of the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans and to the legislation that can fix that problem. Every event should be covered by your local newspaper, radio and TV stations.

Senators Letter to Secretary McDonald

Update

On 11/16/15 we reach a mile stone. We hit the 290 Co-sponsors mark. What this means is that if the Bill is taken to the Floor for a vote, there would be no debating since there is a Super Majority supporting the bill.
 As of now we are are 291 cosponsors in the House and 34 in the Senate.

WE NEED YOUR HELP WITH A NEW PROJECT

WE NEED YOUR HELP WITH A NEW PROJECT
The regulations that the VA needs to write regarding Blue Water Navy veterans due to the Gray v. McDonald have been or soon will be delivered to the White House for approval. We don’t know what it says, but we do know the VA is always inclined to inflate cost figures. What we need to do is send hundreds of letters to the White House asking that they move forward with the VA regulations. I believe that after they get White House approval, VA may bring John Wells back into the picture to review things before they release the new Regulations.
Please go to the link below and send a note to the White House so they know there are people out here in the real world who care about this issue! Send it directly to the President. An example of what you might say is included. Use as is or modify as you see fit.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact
"I have heard that the VA is working on a regulation to help Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans who have diseases caused by Agent Orange. Please support these new VA regulations. Blue Water Navy vets lost their presumption of exposure to Agent Orange in 2002 after it was granted to them by the Agent Orange Act of 1991. Tens of thousands of veterans deserve their earned benefits. It shouldn’t matter what the cost is; these are American lives we are talking about! Please ask the VA to restore these benefits."

Beside using the Contact Form I am also suggesting that we light up the White House Switch board on Monday morning. PLEASE call 202-456-1111 and ask them to support the New Regulations and remind them that the VA has a history of not exactly telling the truth at all times.

One more thing……PLEASE PLEASE SHARE SHARE this on ANY FB or Yahoo group you belong to. Let’s get as many people as we can to do this.

I know some have already started to post this or a similar request on others sites, please post again if you have to. We ALL need to get our point across.

Please make sure you make that call on Monday and SHARE….tell your family, friends, coworkers, enemies, people you barely know, any one and ask them to Contact the White House.

Thanks…remember SHARE

Agent Orange Act Extension Stalls

Agent Orange Act Extension Stalls

The 1991 Agent Orange Act expires on September 30, 2015; new legislation would extend its sunset to September 30, 2017, but it is stalled on the House floor. If the AOA expires, thousands of veterans who were exposed to the chemical will be denied their right to compensation. Please use the FRA Action Center (www.fra.org/action-center) or call the Subcommittee Chairman, Rep. Ralph Abraham (La.) at his Capitol Hill office (202-225-8490) to explain that the AOA expires September 30, 2015 and ask that the bill be approved immediately.

From the Hill & Ponton Disability Attorney Web Site

Blue Water Veterans – Should I file a VA Claim?

September 21, 2015/in Agent Orange, Blue Water, Veterans /by Mary Klements, Claims Advocate

When you had that heart attack unexpectedly a few years ago, you were shocked to discover that you had ischemic heart disease. Heart disease did not run in your family, so where did it come from?

While in the waiting room at the VA medical center for your monthly checkup, you start talking to another patient who, as it turns out, served in the Navy during the Vietnam era – same as you. He tells you that he has a claim pending at the VA for Diabetes Mellitus, but they keeping turning him down. Why? You ask. He gives a rather confusing explanation about being a Blue Water vet, and how the VA will not grant service-connection for Blue Water veterans. “It’s a tough fight”, the fellow patient mutters darkly. “I keep wanting to quit, but my wife won’t let me.”

Back at home, you do some research online about ischemic heart disease. You discover that Agent Orange has been known to cause ischemic heart disease—so that’s where it came from! In fact, it’s on the VA’s list of conditions that are presumed to be caused by exposure to herbicides. But, like the Navy vet at the VA clinic said, the VA will only grant this kind of service connection to Navy veterans if you were “boots on the ground” in Vietnam. And you never went ashore while you were deployed to Vietnam. The question that you ask yourself is:  is it worth it to file a claim?

The answer is: absolutely yes!

For a Blue Water veteran, hope of obtaining service connection is not futile. Thanks to a recent case (Gray v. McDonald) that was won at the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, the VA is now under a lot of pressure to revisit the Agent Orange Act of 1991 in an effort to include Blue Water Navy veterans in the group eligible for VA benefits.

The Agent Orange Act established that certain conditions would be considered as being caused by exposure to herbicide agents, including Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, soft-tissue sarcoma, and chloracne. The Act defined the affected group of veterans as any “veteran who, during active military, naval, or air service, served in the Republic of Vietnam during the Vietnam Era.” The Agent Orange Act also required the Secretary of the VA to contract with the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to review and evaluate the available scientific evidence regarding associations between diseases and exposure to dioxin and other chemical compounds in herbicides. In other words, the IOM would determine if there were any other conditions that were likely caused by exposure to herbicides. If the IOM and the Secretary jointly agreed that these other conditions would be related to exposure to herbicides, these conditions would be added to the presumption list.

Later, the VA informally redefined the eligibility requirements for Navy veterans when the VA’s internal adjudication manual (M21-1) advised that “service in Vietnam will be conceded if the records show that the veteran received the Vietnam Service Medal.” Because the Vietnam Service Medal was typically awarded to veterans who served aboard a ship in the waters offshore Vietnam, regardless of whether they set foot on Vietnamese soil, this Manual M21-1 provision appeared to eliminate any need for these veterans to prove that they set foot on land in Vietnam. Of course, the VA being what it is, this practice was not exercised consistently. In some cases, the VA would grant the case; in other cases, the VA would deny the case based on the fact that the veteran never set foot on land in Vietnam and was therefore not entitled to the presumption. To make matters worse, the subsequent Haas v. Peake case ruled that veterans must have been present within the land borders of the Republic of Vietnam in order to qualify for the Agent Orange presumption. This meant that veterans who served on ships that operated in the inland waterways of Vietnam were eligible, but the veterans who served on ships in the wider bays or on deep-sea vessels were not.

The Gray case finally challenged the VA’s capricious and arbitrary determination on what was considered an “inland waterway”. In the months to follow, the Secretary must revisit the regulations to determine a more reasonable and consistent way of “drawing the line” for Blue Water veterans.

What does this mean for Blue Water veterans now?

With the ever-growing pressure on the VA, we are hopeful that the Secretary’s revisitation of the regulations, coupled with the new bill that is being pushed in Congress, the H.R. 969, will result in a favorable outcome for Blue Water veterans. Therefore, it is important for veterans to continue to fight for the benefits that they so richly deserve.

So for the Blue Water veteran who wants to know if he/she should file a claim: file that claim! Change is in the wind, whether the VA is ready for it or not!

Watch this Video

A must watch: http://www.midhudsonnews.com/News/2015/September/20/UC_VietVets-20Sep15.htm